Kia marks 80th anniversary with EV restomod

• Kia is celebrating its eightieth anniversary
• The automaker commissioned an electrical conversion of its Satisfaction hatchback
• A pair of 10-kwh batteries present as much as 120 miles of vary within the restomod

Kia turns 80 this yr, and to have a good time the automaker’s U.Okay. division commissioned an electrical restomod of a humble Satisfaction hatchback.

The EV conversion was executed by Electrogenic, a U.Okay. agency that makes a speciality of becoming basic vehicles like the Citroën DS with electrical powertrains. The Kia Satisfaction does not have the stature of the DS, but it surely was an important automotive for Kia.

Whereas the corporate was based in 1944 as a bicycle components producer named Kyungsung Precision Trade (the identify was modified to Kia Industries in 1952), and constructed its first automotive (the Kia Brisa) in 1974, the Satisfaction was what gave Kia a world presence. Primarily based on what was identified in Europe and elsewhere because the Mazda 121, it was offered within the U.S. because the Ford Festiva from mannequin years 1988 to 1993 (later evolving to the Aspire).

1996 Kia Satisfaction EV conversion

The donor automotive was a 1996 Kia Satisfaction 1.3 LX five-door hatchback from Kia’s U.Okay. heritage fleet. The outside is authentic—all the way down to the tiny 12-inch wheels—and no everlasting alterations have been made to the construction, in response to Electrogenic, permitting the conversion to be reversed if desired.

Nevertheless, changing the 1.3-liter inline-4 with an electrical motor nets a considerable improve in energy. The gasoline engine made 60 hp and 87 lb-ft of torque, however the Satisfaction EV now boasts 80 hp and 130 lb-ft in its default Auto drive mode and 107 hp and 173 lb-ft in Sport mode, reducing the 0-62 mph time from the unique 19.8 seconds to a extra affordable time of roughly 8.0 seconds. An Eco mode, matching the output of the gasoline engine, can also be out there.

Energy remains to be despatched to the entrance wheels via the unique 5-speed handbook transmission, which was rebuilt with a efficiency clutch to deal with the additional torque from the electrical motor. Eco and Sport modes restrict regenerative braking so drivers could make higher use of the handbook, in response to Kia, whereas Auto mode options extra regeneration and a driving really feel extra like that of a traditional EV.

1996 Kia Satisfaction EV conversion

A pair of 10-kwh battery packs—one underneath the hood and one beneath a barely raised cargo-area ground—present as much as 120 miles of vary. That is when being pushed “sensibly” in Eco mode, Kia notes. A 3.3-kw charger, with its port hidden underneath the inventory gasoline filler flap, can full a full recharge in round six hours.

Even with the pair of battery packs, the Satisfaction EV weighs simply 1,918 kilos, in comparison with 1,873 kilos for the inventory model. It is one other indication that, whereas conserving weight in verify with EV conversions is troublesome, it is not unimaginable. U.Okay.-based Bedeo has additionally claimed its Land Rover EV conversions do not pack on kilos.

Kia is not the one automaker to resurrect a automotive from its childhood as an EV restomod. Father or mother Hyundai has executed the identical with a Pony hatchback—its first in-house design—and its 1980s Grandeur flagship sedan. In 2023 a bunch of apprentices at Audi’s Neckarsulm, Germany, plant turned a classic NSU Prinz 4 from one of many automaker’s predecessor manufacturers into an EV to mark 150 years of producing on the web site.